Why can’t politicians keep out of football?

Thus far, the England team, led with unassuming charm and inspiration by Gareth Southgate, has kept a clean sheet both on the pitch and off. The majority of the (English) public have been cheering them on, with some 20 million watching the Ukraine game on TV. The politicians have, predictably, started to clamber onto the Three Lions bandwagon. Boris Johnson posing standing on an enormous St George’s cross flag in Downing Street was merely the most high-profile of the many publicity stunts.

Spare a thought, then, for the Conservative MP for Ashfield, the redoubtable Lee Anderson. who was so appalled by the team’s decision to take the knee during the tournament that he pledged not to watch a single England game. As England has progressed, his principled stand continues. If he sticks to his pledge, and averts his eyes to the highlights, social media clips and news reports of any future successes – including, potentially, England winning the tournament – Anderson will have the distinction of being the only person in the country not to have seen a single England goal in the Euros.

The knee has been a divisive issue, with some England fans booing it, but Southgate has been clear all along that it is not even a formal gesture of comity with Black Lives Matter, nor a “political stand”, but an anti-racism gesture and a mark of solidarity by the squad.

Anderson agreed that all forms of racism were “vile and should be stamped out”, but felt that the knee was, so to speak, a step too far: “For the first time in my life I will not be watching my beloved England team whilst they are supporting a political movement whose core principles aim to undermine our very way of life,” he said.

Trolling was inevitable, and Labour’s folksy deputy leader, Angela Rayner, tweeted after the 4-0 defeat of Ukraine: “Thoughts with Lee Anderson tonight, you’ve missed a cracker mate.”

In contrast, the home secretary, Priti Patel, was called a hypocrite for tweeting enthusiastic support for England after refusing to condemn England fans booing the knee gesture, arguing it was a matter for the fans, and revealing a lukewarm attitude to the beautiful game: “That’s a choice for them quite frankly. I’ve not gone to a football match to even contemplate that.” She is at odds with Boris Johnson and Sajid Javid, who have asked the fans to be more respectful. Her tactical backflip hasn’t been successful.

And so football has become a political football, being kicked around by the politicians for their own purposes. Such is the glamour and popularity of the game that the politicos find it irresistible, even if they embarrass themselves. David Cameron, for example, attracted widespread ridicule for mixing up his supposed adopted team Aston Villa (a relative had shares in the club) and West Ham United, two teams that happen to have the same claret and blue colours. He should have stuck to the cricket. By comparison, his Tory predecessor, John Major, was a sports nut and a genuine Chelsea fan. Major even used to find time to go to Stamford Bridge with fellow fan and “minister for fun” David Mellor (who was later falsely accused of wearing a Chelsea kit during romps with his lover).

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Tony Blair was a more ambiguous footballing politician. Excellent at headers – keeping up with Kevin Keegan during a photo op – he was falsely reported to have suffered some sort of memory lapse when he claimed to have watched the great Jackie Milburn playing for Newcastle in the 1960s. In fact, Blair said he had been to St James’ Park after the Milburn era, a more credible possibility.

Gordon Brown was a true and faithful follower of Raith Rovers (and a rugged player in his youth), but Theresa May never bothered to pretend any loyalty, saving her passion for cricket, and especially for Geoff Boycott (whom she knighted).

It was an earlier premier, Harold Wilson (Huddersfield Town fan) who compared himself to a sweeping midfielder in the way he ran his governments. He also, in 1966 and after, mischievously asked, “Have you noticed that England only win the World Cup when there’s a Labour government?” As it happens he’d already won his general election landslide by the time he sat in the VIP row when the Queen handed Bobby Moore the gleaming Jules Remy trophy, but plainly thought he’d “assisted” the victory. England hasn’t won anything since, under Labour, Conservative, or Conservative-Liberal Democrat governments. No doubt, if England seize the delayed Euros, Boris Johnson will make some similarly outlandish claim to Wilson’s. You can’t keep politicians out of football.